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How do you get a product ready for the shelf? Brands readying for launch quickly discover that product design isn’t done until package design is done. That’s because packaging is a big factor in point-of-sale appeal. In fact, 72% of American consumers share that the design of a product’s packaging greatly influences their purchasing decisions. Take a look at what every brand preparing for a product launch needs to know about shelf-ready packaging (SRP).

What Is Shelf-Ready Packaging?

Shelf-ready packaging refers to packaging that’s delivered to retail partners in a ready-to-sell state. Retailers receive thousands of products. As a result, brands need to make the work of stocking shelves as easy as possible for retailers in order to ensure that products are displayed appropriately. This is accomplished through packaging that is easily placed on the shelves, easy to display without unpacking, and ready to be purchased without repacking.

What Are the Main Options for Shelf-Ready Packaging?

Brands have two main options for effective shelf-ready packaging. The first option is box-like packaging that utilizes a cutting line for perforation. While this design may look like a regular carton box, at first sight, it actually turns into a convenient display box after being opened up along the perforated lines.

The next option skips the perforation cutting line in favor of a flap. Typically, this type of design will have something called an over-flap head that is folded to the base of the box upon arrival at the store. It transforms from a storage box to a display box instantly!

What Brands Need to Know About Shelf-Ready Packaging

Many brands are overlooking one very important thing about shelf-ready packaging. Yes, packaging is largely designed with the consumer in mind. However, product packaging needs to be at least partly designed for retail employees. Retail employees need to be able to intuitively and efficiently interact with product packaging in order to safely and neatly display your products. Here’s a look at the core categories to satisfy when designing retail-ready, shelf-ready product packaging:

• Easily Identifiable by Store Teams: Retail employees must be able to clearly see your product’s name to ensure that it is stocked in the correct area of a store.
• Reasonably Easy to Open: Packaging must be reasonably easy to open using minimal equipment. Ideally, your packaging will be engineered in a way that allows it to be opened without special cutters.
• Easy to Stock: Packaging should be easy to stock on shelves with a single touch. Awkward or unbalanced packaging that’s heavy to lift can result in higher rates of product damage during stocking.
• Full of Billboard Appeal for Customers: Packaging should make products easily identifiable for customers.
• Easy to Grab: Packaging should be smooth enough to allow customers to grab products from the shelves easily without effort.
• Easy to Break Down: Any exterior packaging that holds products should be easy to break down after stocking.

The good news for brands is that many of the features that make packaging easy for retail partners to handle also make packaging easy for customers to handle. That means that your shelf-ready packaging is more likely to make products “fly off” the shelves without bottlenecks. So much of what makes product packaging great for retail comes down to good packaging engineering.

Designing Shelf-Ready Packaging: What Are the Characteristics to Include?

Designing retail-perfect product packaging comes down to blending technical aspects with artistic aspects. Packaging should be viewed as brand value in motion. Take a look at some of the points to hit when designing shelf-ready packaging.

Clear Graphics

Crisp, clear graphics are essential for making products easy to identify. Creating instant recognition allows retail partners to know exactly where products should be stored in their stores. In addition, clear graphics simply make your product easier to find for shoppers. The goal is to make sure that your product can be identified from a good distance in the aisle. This helps to draw customers toward a product. Good graphics will do 90% of the communication needed to ensure that your product makes an impact on the shelf!

Secure Shipping

It’s important to account for all of the things that will occur before a product makes it to the shelf when designing shelf-ready retail packaging. Products need to ship easily within retail packaging. Products should be secure and stable within packaging. In addition, the contents should be easily identifiable to ensure that the packaging is properly handled all throughout the transport process. While securing products is important, it’s also important to ensure that packaging doesn’t contain extra space or bulk that will only serve to needlessly increase shipping costs.

Recyclable Materials

Brands should never leave retailers “holding the bag” when it comes to product waste following stocking. Shelf-ready packaging should be made from recyclable materials whenever possible. While using recyclable, eco-friendly materials is good for the environment, the truth is that using fewer materials also benefits brands by reducing costs for materials, shipping costs, and costs associated with warehouse storage. What material is best when selecting recyclable shelf-ready packaging? Most brands use packaging made from corrugated fiberboard because this is considered to be the “most recyclable” packaging option. Most packages made from corrugated fiberboard have recovery rates of nearly 90%!

Controlling Brand Perceptions on the Shelf

Designing shelf-ready packaging presents an opportunity to expand your brand’s control over how products appear on shelves. Brands that exclusively do online retail have tighter control over packaging and shipping than brands that deploy large patches of products to retail stores around the country. While controlling brand image after products leave a brand’s hands may seem like an obstacle, the truth is that this situation actually creates amazing opportunities to make products more appealing.

Having a plan for shelf-ready packaging ensures that products grab attention at the point of sale through a professional, polished presentation. This is an opportunity to make a product stand out when pitted directly against competitors on a shelf. Unlike online products that compete with thousands of products, in-store products only have to beat out a handful of in-person competitors. Good shelf-ready packaging is often the deciding factor.

In addition to making products more appealing, packaging that’s suited for retail environments also reduces the likelihood of products being damaged during handling and stocking. A damaged product on the shelf can greatly reduce consumer confidence in your brand. The situation can be even worse if a customer doesn’t notice product damage until after they’ve taken the product home. Roughly 5% to 10% of in-store purchases are returned. These returns represent billions of dollars in losses for brands each year.

Who Should Be Involved With Designing Shelf-Ready Packaging?

Packaging design of any kind should be a collaborative effort that involves all departments involved with product development, marketing, sales, design, and merchandising. This is one aspect of bringing products to market that truly involves all aspects of a brand because packaging is where engineering and art intertwine. If your brand is working with retail partners, it may also be wise to get some input regarding best practices. Working with your retail partners instead of simply expecting partners to be able to successfully handle your packaging choices can help to boost in-store sales by ensuring that your product enjoys priority display, property display, quick replenishment, and reductions in product damages.

It’s important to know that shelf-ready packaging is something to prioritize even if your brand is too small to have an in-house packaging team. Many brands assume that they have no choice other than to simply leave the final impression up to retail workers because they don’t have the in-house capacity to design shelf-ready packaging. However, the truth is that brands of all sizes actually rely on packaging vendors to assist with designing and creating shelf-ready packaging.

Get Help With Shelf-Ready Packaging Today

At Mid-Atlantic Packaging, we help brands in all categories make their products shine on the shelves. Our packaging engineers and designers have experience with food-grade packaging, luxury packaging, electronics packaging, and so much more! We specialize in helping brands to discover sustainable, cost-effective options for custom packaging that reduce product damage and shipping costs. Reach out today for your custom packaging quote from Mid-Atlantic Packaging.